Word
gender
Phoneticsgen·der
US/ˈdʒɛndɝ/
UK/dʒˈɛndɐ/
Definitions
01social identity
n. the social and cultural identity of being a man, a woman, or another identity.
n. the state of being a man, woman, or non-binary person, typically in relation to social and cultural roles rather than biological ones.
“The survey asked for my age, gender, and occupation.”
“Sociologists argue that gender is a social construct that varies significantly across different cultures and historical periods.”
Usage
Often used in contrast with 'sex' to distinguish social identity from biological characteristics.
02grammar
n. a way of grouping nouns into categories like masculine, feminine, or neuter.
n. a grammatical category used to classify nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, often determining agreement between words in a sentence.
“In French, every noun has a gender, either masculine or feminine.”
“The German language features three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter, which dictate the form of the definite article.”
Academic
Usage
In linguistics, this is often referred to as 'grammatical gender'.
03biological sex
n. the physical category of being male or female.
n. the classification of organisms as male or female based on reproductive functions.
“The doctor noted the gender of the baby during the ultrasound.”
“While 'sex' is the preferred technical term in biology, 'gender' is frequently used as a synonym in medical and legal documents.”
Teaching tip
In modern academic contexts, using 'gender' to mean 'biological sex' is often discouraged to avoid confusion with social identity.
Synonyms
04mechanical connectors
n. the classification of electrical or mechanical parts as 'male' or 'female' so they fit together.
n. the property of matching connectors, where one part (male) fits into another (female) to create a connection.
“Check the gender of the cable before you buy the adapter.”
“The technician ensured that the gender of the serial port matched the connector on the peripheral device.”
Technical
05to assign a category
v. to treat someone or something as having a specific gender.
v. to attribute a gender to a person, object, or concept; to perceive or address someone through the lens of gendered categories.
“Society often genders certain toys, like dolls for girls and trucks for boys.”
“The author explores how the workplace is gendered through subtle language choices and traditional power structures.”
Academic
Usage
Often used in the passive voice or as a participle (e.g., 'a gendered perspective').
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“Most of us would agree that our gender is not a choice but a core part of who we are.” “In the 1980s, the high court refused to strike down a Georgia law that criminalized sexual relations between people of the same gender.” “She had organised everything from the baby shower and gender reveal to personalised decor for when Tommy arrived.” Etymology
From Middle English gendre, borrowed from Old French gendre, borrowed from Latin genere (“type, kind”). Doublet of genre and genus. The verb developed after the noun.
From Middle English gendren, genderen, from Middle French gendrer, from Latin generāre.
Borrowed from Indonesian gender, from Javanese ꦒꦼꦤ꧀ꦢꦺꦂ (gendèr), from Old Javanese gĕnder.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Collocations
Word family
Related words
Idioms
gender bender — A person who dresses in the clothes of another sex, or in clothes which make their gender identity ambiguous.
play the gender card — To assert that sexism is involved in a situation, especially in order to exploit sexist or antisexist attitudes.
Domains
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/gender